Adam Liccardi sentenced to eight to 12 years in connection with 2012 UMass gang rape

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(Collegian File Photo)

Adam Liccardi, the third of four men charged in connection with the 2012 rape of a University of Massachusetts student, was sentenced to eight to 12 years in state prison Tuesday by a judge in Hampshire County Superior Court.

Liccardi, 21, was found guilty of two counts of aggravated rape and one additional count of rape by a jury in September. The Pittsfield native was also sentenced to five years probation at the conclusion of his prison sentence.

Two other men, Emmanuel Bile and Justin King, both 21, were previously convicted in connection to the alleged gang rape and are serving state prison sentences. A trial date for Caleb Womack, the last of the four men to await trial, has not been set.

All four men were accused of simultaneously raping an 18-year-old UMass student in her Pierpont Hall dorm room in October 2012. The woman testified that the men – who were not UMass students – argued over who would rape her and in what order, and that she was incapacitated after previously consuming alcohol that night.

Liccardi faced an additional count of rape after the woman said he returned later in the night and raped her again.

Liccardi maintained his innocence in his trial, saying the woman consented to sex, and even initiated sex with both himself and King. Liccardi’s lawyer, Alfred Chamberland, argued that only Bile raped the woman.

But after nearly 12 hours of deliberations that spanned two days, a jury found him guilty on three of four charges on Sept. 2. He was held at Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction since while awaiting sentencing.

The woman delivered an impact statement Tuesday, saying she “lost the will to live” after the event, according to WWLP. The woman has spoken at all three sentencing hearings.

Following Liccardi’s verdict in September, First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne said he believes the woman is prepared to testify, if necessary, in Womack’s trial, which is the last of the four.

Womack’s trial was initially slated to begin in October in Hampshire Superior Court, but is currently on hold as the defense awaits DNA testing results from the state. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Womack’s defense team could request the date of the trial be pushed back to as far as January depending on the results of the tests.

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.